Officials: Bassler wanted in two shooting deaths

A Fort Bragg man wanted in connection with the shooting death of Councilman Jere Melo is now also suspected in the Aug. 11 killing of a Mendocino Land Trust employee, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said Friday.

Authorities said they have obtained an arrest warrant for suspect Aaron Bassler, 35, in connection with the shooting deaths of Matthew Coleman and Melo, but did not given further details on how the crimes were connected.

Mendocino Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said deputies are conducting some follow up investigations in Southern Humboldt, but there is no confirmation that Bassler may have been in Humboldt.

"We don't know that for sure," Smallcomb said Friday, adding that they are continuing to actively search for Bassler in Mendocino County.

The interviews were conducted in areas around Whitethorn and Shelter Cove.

Coleman, an Albion resident, did maintenance work on 400 acres of land owned by the Save the Redwoods League and managed by the land trust. He was shot and killed on the remote property near Cape Vizcaino on Aug. 11.

Melo, a popular city councilman, was shot and killed on Aug. 24 while investigating a report of a marijuana grow on property owned by Campbell Timberland Management. It turned out to be a grow of about 100 opium poppies. Another man who was with Melo returned fire. The co-worker was uninjured and called authorities.

Mendocino County Sheriff's Office personnel, with the assistance of officers and agents from the Fort Bragg Police Department, Willits Police Department, Ukiah Police Department, Cal Fire, California Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol, California Fish and Game, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, the National Guard and the local timber industry are continuing to search for Bassler.